A somber Jerry West collected his thoughts as he reflected on his friendship and the bond he developed with former Lakers teammate Elgin Baylor.
Baylor died Monday at 86, and West was saddened by the news but also, he said, grateful for the time the two of them had together.
West and Baylor played 11-plus seasons together with the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming known as two of the best players in the game.
“I’m very sad,” said West, reached by phone Monday afternoon. “I guess I’m grateful to have shared some incredible times with him. He was just one of those unique individuals.
“I just learned so much from him about how to carry yourself as a player, a person. Most of all, the times we spent together after games. … Oh my God. The respect you gain for someone like him. He went out of his way to be helpful to me in terms of growing up, sharing things with me, which I know I will cherish the rest of my life, I know that. He was just a great human being.”
Baylor retired after playing in just nine games of the 1971-72 season. The Lakers finally won their first NBA championship in Los Angeles that season, beating the New York Knicks in the Finals.
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New York Knicks’ Dave DeBusschere winces as he and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Elgin Baylor collide in the first period of a game at New York’s Madison Square Garden on April 24, 1970. (Associated Press)
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Laker coach Bill Van Breda Kolf, left, applauds play against the Warriors on Dec. 20, 1968. With him, from left: Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Bill Hewitt and Keith Erickson. (Los Angeles Times)
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Elgin Baylor, a star on the Seattle University basketball team, is shown on Feb. 14, 1958. (Associated Press)
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Baylor, center, walks on the Seattle University campus with classmates Jack Jones, left, and Craig Hanson on Feb. 1, 1957. (Associated Press)
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Elgin Baylor, second from left in class on Feb. 1, 1957. (Associated Press)
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Mr. and Mrs. John W. Baylor with their son Elgin as he gets ready to play for the Seattle University team in the National Invitation Tournament in Madison Square Garden in New York on March 18, 1957. (Associated Press)
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Elgin Baylor, 6-foot-five center from Seattle University, signed today, June 14, 1958, in Minneapolis, Minn., with the Minneapolis Lakers for rumored $17,000 to $20, 000. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Los Angeles Lakers’ Elgin Baylor maneuvers his way through New York Knicks’ Bill Bradley, left, and Dick Barnett on his way to two points in NBA playoffs game at Forum in Los Angeles on May 1, 1970. (AP)
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Boston’s Bailey Howell whirls with a reverse layup against the Lakers on May 5, 1969, but Elgin Baylor is there to block it. (Harold P. Matosian / Associated Press)
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Los Angeles center Wilt Chamberlain, left, passes off to teammate Elgin Baylor (22) who drives in for a layup in first half of National Basketball Association game, January 24, 1969 with the Atlanta Hawks. (AP)
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New Orleans Jazz coach Elgin Baylor says he’s getting more comfortable as Jazz coach, which was a hot seat in the NBA in New Orleans February 5, 1978. (Associated Press)
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New Orleans Jazz Coach Elgin Baylor (in coat) shakes with, from left, Kent Benson of the Milwaukee Bucks, Tommy Green of the Jazz and Jimmy McElroy of the Jazz, who did not dress out for the Jazz-Bucks game in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans April 7, 1979. (Mark Petty / Associated Press)
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Clippers new coach Mike Dunleavy and Elgin Baylor at a summer league game against the Lakers and Clippers at the Long Beach Pyramid on July 12,2003. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
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Elgin Baylor hopes to take his successes to the general managership of the LA Clippers. (Anacleto Rapping / Los Angeles Times)
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NBA Hall of Fame players Elgin Baylor, left, and Bill Walton arrive for a memorial service for the Lakers’ late owner, Jerry Buss, at Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. (Los Angeles Times)
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Members of the Minneapolis Lakers Hall of Fame George Mikan, Vern Mikkelsen, Slater Martin, Clyde Lovellette, Coach John Kundla and members of the Los Angeles Lakers Mitch Kupchak, Jerry West, James Worthy, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Elgin Baylor watch the raising of the Minneapolis banner Thursday at the Staples Center in April of 2002. (Los Angeles Times)
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Elgin Baylor stands next to a statue, just unveiled, honoring the Minneapolis and Los Angeles Lakers great, outside Staples Center in Los Angeles, in this Friday, April 6, 2018. (Reed Saxon / Associated Press)
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Three of the seven jerseys displayed above the seats of the Great Western Forum honor former Lakers Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. (Los Angeles Times)
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Former Los Angeles Lakers, from left, Jerry West, James Worthy, Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O’Neal, Jamaal Wilkes and former coach Phil Jackson pose as they retired his O’Neal’s jersey during the half of the Lakers’ NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Tuesday, April 2, 2013, in Los Angeles. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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NBA legend and former Laker Elgin Baylor acknowledges the crowd upon reception of an award at halftime during the Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors NBA game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on November 16, 2014, where the Warriors defeated the Lakers 136-115. (FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images)
West, 82, said he wondered how Baylor felt about missing out on the opportunity to win a championship. The Lakers had lost in the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics six times during the 1960s.
“I couldn’t ever ask him this question: I often wonder how he felt to see us win a championship and he only played about [nine] games that year,” West said. “When he retired, we won 33 straight games. I wonder what he felt like. With me, I would have probably felt like, ‘Oh, my God, how can I be just this incredible player and, without me, we win 33 straight games and win a championship.’
“I could never bring myself to ask him that. Never. I’m sure he felt like. … Who knows what he felt like? This will be a very reflective day for me, that’s for sure.”
